The friendship between Boston and Nova Scotia, and the tradition of lighting a Nova Scotia Christmas Tree in Boston, began with a terrible tragedy in December 1917. A massive explosion in Halifax Harbor killed more than 1,000 people and wiped out entire neighborhoods. Boston and the state of Massachusetts immediately sent aid up and the following Christmas, Nova Scotia sent a Christmas tree as thanks. 

102 years after that first Christmas tree, we went behind the scenes with the Boston Parks Department, as they put together their massive annual tree lighting ceremony, centered around a regal 45-foot white spruce. Months in the making, the event is their "Super Bowl" of the year, featuring a variety of musicians and entertainers and a pyrotechnics display at the end, as the tree is officially lit.